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Characters: A Song Of Ice And Fire House Baratheon
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This is a listing of member of House Baratheon that appear in the Fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. Visit here for the main character index. The current royal house. A house with a tradition of being aggressive, they rule the stormy eastern coast. Their brutal treatment at the hands of Aerys the Mad made them the first to rise in rebellion against the Targaryens. The impregnable castle Storm's End is their seat. The Baratheon sigil is a black stag, crowned since they became the royal house. The youngest of the Great Houses, and descended from the early Targaryens. King Robert Baratheon How do you fight someone if you can't hit them? The King of Westeros when the story begins, he was the victor of the first civil war, known variously as "The War of the Usurper" or "Robert's Rebellion." A brave and unstoppable warrior in his youth, the death of the woman King Robert loved has caused him to degenerate over the years into a fat drunk man whose only interests are eating, drinking, hunting and whoring. Since he is uninterested in governing the realm, the real power lies with Varys and Jon Arryn. He hates the Targaryens but can't control his own vassal lords. He is eventually murdered by his wife Cersei, who orchestrated a hunting 'accident.'- Adipose Rex: Not as obese as some, but he really lets himself go after gaining the throne.
- The Alcoholic: Suggested. Heavy drinking is one of the (many) activities he prefers to actually governing his kingdom, and after he rapes his wife in a drunken stupor, he says upon waking that it was the wine that was responsible, not him.
- Asskicking Equals Authority: Robert was one of the most powerful warriors in his day. Although Ned was the real tactician in charge of "Robert's Rebellion," it seems that Robert's reputation as a Badass made him its de facto leader, and won him the throne.
- Robert led the army during the inital battles in the south (with mixed success) and in the key battle on the Trident, where Ned arrived by the time it was over. He specifically gives the credit to Ned for defeating Connington's army, but not for the whole war.
- Well, that and the fact that it was the kidnapping of his betrothed that started the whole thing.
- He also gains the throne because he was actually part of the line to inherit the throne through a distant relative.
- Though it's fairly apparent that the only people who cared were Ned(who's made of Honor Before Reason) and, according to Renly, the maesters in the citadel. Renly plainly states that Robert's "right" to the throne was his warhammer, and Robert himself laments that Ned should have been the one to take the crown. Cersei even states that it would have been as simple as Ned sitting in the Iron Throne after telling Jaime to get off of it.
- Blue Eyes
- Boisterous Bruiser: Rather brutally deconstructed.
- Casanova
- Deconstructed Trope: A charismatic battle leader is a bad choice for King. Robert knows it, and surrounds himself with more cunning Straight Man advisors. And that still isn't enough.
- Domestic Abuse: Unfortunately, Robert subjects his wife Cersei to this. Had he not done that, he might not have ended up dead by "hunting accident".
- Drop the Hammer: His weapon of choice is a giant iron warhammer that is described as being so heavy Ned Stark could hardly even lift it. Robert used it effortlessly. With one hand because he had a shield on his other arm.
- Dumbass Has a Point/The Extremist Was Right/Hilarious in Hindsight: Alright, Robert was rather... zealous... in having the surviving Targaryens hunted down. It's still funny, now, in a Black Comedy sort of way, that Daenerys is, sooner or later, going to turn up in Westeros with (probably) a huge Badass Army and a trio of dragons... and other than the couple of people directly planning for it, about the only one who even kind of saw it coming was poor, paranoid Robert.
- The Dulcinea Effect: Robert's motivation for fighting in the civil war that overthrew the Targaryens was to rescue his betrothed Lyanna.
- Failure Knight: ...and Lyanna died during the war. Woe. Robert himself comments on this:
"Rhaegar won, damn him. I killed him, Ned, I drove the spike right through that black armor into his black heart, and he died at my feet. They made up songs about it. Yet somehow he still won. He has Lyanna now, and I have her." - Fat Bastard: He's not the worst guy in the world, but he's gained a lot of weight since he became king, and this self-indulgence seems to go hand-in-hand with an increasing moral laziness. Upon seeing him for the first time in years, Ned thinks to himself that Robert has gained at least 8 stone(100 Imperial pounds); given the descriptions of him as a young man, that easily puts him north of 300 pounds.
- Stout Strength: Even still, he could still carry that hammer of his easily enough and could skewer a wild boar. He'd just be a bit more winded afterwards.
- Freudian Trio: With his brothers. He's the Id.
- General Ripper: Has an overwhelming and irrational hatred of all Targaryens, and has no moral qualms with sending assassins after a 14-year old girl currently located on another continent and moving away from him.
- Hunting Accident: How he meets his end.
- I Was Quite a Looker: As a young man, he was tall, handsome and "muscled like a maiden's fantasy." By the beginning of the first book, he...isn't.
- Really Gets Around: If the prophecy Cercei got is to be believed Robert has fathered 16 children (all bastards) in his time. Despite Cercei's best effort only one is known to have been killed in her revenge. It seems his genes might stay around for somet time.
- Varys was only able to count eight bastards from Robert, at least that's what he tells Tyrion.
- Strong Family Resemblance: His bastard offsprings all show a strong resemblance to Robert both physicaly and in being headstrong.
- Renly is said to look just like him, minus twenty years of drinking, overeating, and whoring.
- The Mourning After: He still visits Lyanna's grave to pay his respects. She didn't fool herself about whether he would be unfaithful to her in life; but her death kept him loyal to her forever. Go figure.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: With Eddard Stark.
- Uncanny Family Resemblance: All of his (numerous) children have the same black hair and blue eyes that he does. In Real Life, black hair is a dominant genetic trait, so no problem there. Blue eye colour, however, not so much.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Borderline meta-example, in that he is no-where near as bad as many characters in the series including most of the ones who wanted him dead, and he became King- and a decent, if not necessarily competent, King at that- by rebelling against overthrowing The Caligula. But the longer the story goes on the more apparent it is that Robert was not a particularly good person- for instance, his quest to kill all Targaryen children, while arguably bad in itself, is worse because it was likely motivated not by pragmatism (ie. risk of future war with adult Targaryen heirs) but petty vengeance against the guy / family who stole his girlfriend (whom he probably would still have cheated on and might not really have loved in any meanignful way). If the "Jon Snow= Rhaegar's son" theory is true, then Ned was probably protecting Jon from Robert above everyone else; Robert would have killed him, such was his hatred for Rhaegar, though he's the only one who thought Rhaegar was anything other than an all-round fantastic man.
Joffrey Baratheon "So long as I am your King, treason will never go unpunished! Ser Ilyn, bring me his head." The firstborn son and successor of King Robert. Actually the son of Cersei and Jaime Lannister, who have an incestuous relationship.. He is betrothed to Sansa Stark, who completely falls in love with the handsome Prince. He gradually reveals what he really is, however, and It Got Worse. Tommen and Myrcella BaratheonTommen: "When I'm king in my own right, I'm going to outlaw beets."
Eight-year-old Myrcella and seven-year-old Tommen are Cersei's other two children. They also are nothing like their older brother Joffrey: they're sweet-tempered, nice and gentle. In short, Innocents. Their favorite family member is their uncle Tyrion. Of course, considering how much of a Crapsack World this is, it probably won't end well for them. - Arranged Marriage: Tommen and Margaery. Myrcella was supposed to marry Prince Trystane Martell, and they got along pretty well before shit happened.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted: Myrcella loses an ear and has her face scarred by Darkstar.
- Brother-Sister Incest: A fan theory, given a line by Tommen which indicated abuse by Joffrey (it being sexual is not confirmed, though.)
- The Cutie: Both of them.
- Fallen Princess: Poor, poor Myrcella
- Green Eyes: Both of them.
- Infant Immortality: Averted, Because Destiny Says So. While no one was sad to see Joffrey go, it'll be a shame if/when these two do.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: Tommen really likes his kittens.
- Momma's Boy: Tommen is completely dominated by his mom Cersei. That does not bode well, and his wife Margaery tries to reverse it but it doesn't really work either.
- The Ojou: Myrcella.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: It looks like Myrcella's marriage to Trystane may become this if she avoids her prophesized fate.
- Tommen and Margaery Tyrell get along famously. She takes him hawking, out for visits among the smallfolk in King's Landing, gives him a litter of kittens as a gift, and lets her brother Loras teach him how to joust. Because of their age difference, though, Tommen looks up to her like a Cool Big Sis rather than as a romantic partner. It's telling that when Cersei makes an offhand comment about taking off Margaery's head, he puts his eight-year-old foot down and stands up to her for the first time in the series.
- Puppet King: Tommen, although it's really no secret.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Tommen and Joffrey.
Stannis Baratheon "Great or small, we must do our duty." "There is no creature on earth half as terrifying as a truly just man." Varys, about Stannis King Robert's stern and uptight younger brother, Stannis is a man obsessed with his principles and always, always does what he feels to be his duty. He finds out that Joffrey is not Robert's son, and rebels after his brother's death since he's his sole heir. He is unpopular with the people for his merciless sense of justice, but proves to be a very complex man who dislikes what he forces himself to do. Renly Baratheon "Loras, stay and help me pray. It has been so long I have quite forgotten how." King Robert's youngest brother. A handsome, flashy and charismatic young man, he is very popular with the common people. Later, Renly refuses to support either his nephew Joffrey's claim to the throne or his brother Stannis's rebellion, and declares himself King since that he has the largest army in Westeros thanks to his alliance with the Tyrells. - Back from the Dead: Subverted— the "ghost of Renly" that helped drive back Stannis' forces in A Clash of Kings was just Loras' brother Garlan, wearing Renly's armor.
- Blue Eyes
- Cain and Abel: Renly and his older brother Stannis are mortal enemies, though both are equally "good" and "evil".
- The Charmer: as is noted above, people like him.
- Deadpan Snarker
- Disc One Final Boss: By the end of the first book, Renly commanded an enormous war host larger than all other armies on the continent put together. It didn't last very long.
- Freudian Trio: With his brothers. He's the Ego.
- Hanging Separately: With Eddard in the first book, and with his elder brother in the second book
- Hunk: frequently described as handsome, as well as "tall and powerfully made".
- Hide Your Gays: Renly and Loras Tyrell had a sexual relationship. Word of Gay was necessary before some fans would believe it.
- Killed Off for Real
- Pride: His biggest flaw.
"I have it in me to be a great king, strong yet generous, clever, just, diligent. loyal to my friends and terrible to my enemies, yet capable of forgiveness, patient-" "-humble?" Catelyn supplied. Renly laughed. "You must allow a king some flaws, my lady." - Might Makes Right: When discussing the legitimacy of his claim, he's quick to point out that he's got the biggest army.
- Pet the Dog: Brienne.
- The Resenter: Perhaps not as much as Stannis, but it figures into his motivation nonetheless.
- It's All About Me: shades of this. His quest for kingship is -not- improving things.
- Sleazy Politician: Is one at heart, although he doesn't appear like one.
- Straight Gay
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